Watch out while reading this, or don't at all, until you know what's coming. This article contains heavy spoilers. Read ahead with caution.
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Dr. Hillary Massar is major character in Killzone Shadow Fall. She is a Vektan born genetic researcher employed by the VSA, then later Stahl Arms, to develop a ethnic bioweapon.
Biography[]
As an undergraduate, Massar engineered a dangerous pathogen and deliberately exposed it to several of her colleagues in order to prove validity of her research, which at the time was disputed. Massar escaped prosecution and imprisonment by agreeing to work for the Vektan Security Agency's science division.[1]
The VSA appointed Massar to conduct human experimentation aboard the ISC Cassandra on Helghast subjects, with the goal of developing a new, unprecedented type of biological weapon. The weapon would be capable of eliminating human life across a large area, targeting a given type of genome. Massar developed the weapon at the cost of numerous Helghast test subjects and even the Cassandra's crew members.
It was believed by some, or claimed by Thomas Sinclair, that the bio-weapon was purely meant to be a deterrent, and would not be deployed. The completed weapon was codenamed "Ethnic Bullet", a term coined by Massar and used by attendant Andrea Parsons in a message about the deceased victims of testing.[2] Parsons attempted to stop the weapon's development, but he was unable to do it in time.
Massar had a type of fascination with the Helghast, believing their superiority to Vektans made them more suitable for experimentation. This was not due to the political factors at the time, but because of some intrinsic biological property.[3] She later deduced all Vektans minus herself must die, so the Helghast could continue to evolve.
Defection and Death[]
Massar later anticipated that the VSA would undoubtedly eliminate her as a "loose end" after she completed her work, in which she then made the decision to defect to the Helghast.[4] She delivered an encrypted message to New Helghan before releasing her virus on the Cassandra's crew. Massar's defection was soon discovered by the VSA, who dispatched Shadow Marshal Lucas Kellan to scuttle the Cassandra and apprehend Massar. However, Helghast forces under the operative Echo reached Massar before Kellan could intercept them. Upon being apprehended, Massar noticed Echo's uniqueness from the other Helghast and was correct to assume Echo to be a half-breed.[5]
Chancellor Visari's administration sought to use Massar's weapon themselves, repurposing it to target humans, and to use it as leverage against Vekta. The weapon was also capable of targeting half-breeds. To fulfill this, Visari reassigned Massar to work under arms developer Jorhan Stahl. After entering Helghast custody, Massar was relocated to Stahl's base on Helghan.
Massar was eventually seized by Lucas Kellan and Echo on a mining spire orbiting Helghan. Kellan had orders from Sinclair to take her into custody. However, Kellan allowed Massar to be killed by Echo to prevent her research from being use by New Helghan and Vekta.[6] At the time of her death, the weapon was already delivered to Stahl and prepared for deployment. Massar's defection and cause of death was covered up by the Vektan government in which the official press release stated that she had died in a freak laboratory accident.[7]
Characteristics[]
Dr. Massar was an arrogant Vektan arms specialist with a superiority complex to humans and Helghast alike. In some respects, this could be called a god complex. She regarded humans as evolutionarily inert, and half-breeds as impure throwbacks that ruin the Helghast bloodline.
She was controlling and abrasive, making undue demands of Helghast guards, and continuing her experiments on some Helghast as well as humans while in Stahl's custody. She often spoke with a condescending tone, and was manipulative enough to make Echo ashamed of her parentage. She threatened the VSA soldiers apprehending her at Stahl's base by asking if they can "feel the sickness" - a reference to the effects of the Vektan-targeted bioweapon - to a point that one soldier was ordered to silence her.
Conversations[]
Chapter 3: The Doctor[]
Show: Massar and Echo |
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Massar: "You know you're going to die." |
Show: Massar's capture |
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Echo: "Take her to the holding cells." |
Chapter 7: The Handler[]
Show: Escaping with Massar |
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Kellan: "We're leaving, now." |
Show: The end of Massar |
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Kellan: "Woah woah woah, stand down sergeant." |
Quotes[]
Chapter 7: The Handler[]
- "I require two more test subjects in the lower labs immediately."
- "Where are those test subjects? I don't appreciate being ignored. I'll keep speaking until someone answers me."
- "I was told I wouldn't be disturbed. I have important work."
- "I can't concentrate if I'm interrupted."
- "Don't mistake this for failure. You're too late. It's waiting for you down there, with him. It far exceeds what was glimpsed on the Cassandra. I am attempting to refine its yield. I look forward to seeing it tested on such a large scale. Until now I've only had my simulations to go by. And my imagination. I can tell you are shocked, but you are not looking with open eyes. In the smallest parts it is so elegant, so beautiful. They have had to adapt, survive; they have endured. We are only preventing them from moving on, they cannot fulfil their true potential while we exist. You're all going to die."
- "There's a container coming right at me!"
- "There's a container blocking my path! Destroy it!"
- "They're getting too close!"
- "There's another container heading this way!"
- "The train won't make it, there's a container in the way!"
- "They won't give up."
- "The train is losing pressure!"
- "Look out!"
- "They've redirected another container onto this line!"
- "There's more coming!"
- "I've got a full shut down of life support!"
- "Incoming container!"
- "Quickly Marshal, there's another one on the line!"
- "We're almost there!"
- "That's it!"
- "There should be manual controls -- it will let you cycle the airlock."
Trivia[]
- Massar is voiced by Azura Skye.[8]
- Massar is referred to by Stahl as "The Little Mouse" in Chapter 5.
- In Killzone Shadow Fall multiplayer, there is a player icon of her, entitling her "The Doctor".
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Dossier: Hillary Massar
- ↑ Ethnic Bullet
- ↑ Genetic Admiration
- ↑ Decision Time
- ↑ Killzone Shadow Fall, campaign level The Doctor
- ↑ Killzone Shadow Fall, campaign level The Handler
- ↑ Vektan Daily, "Famous geneticist dies"
- ↑ Killzone: Shadow Fall Credits. GameFAQs, accessed on 2014-01-14